Authors & Editors
Cyril Pereira: The Journalist
Cyril wrote about the launch of the Loughborough University ex-graduates book, “Those Were the Days” at the British Council on 6th August 2025:
Puan Husna Kassim kindly invited me to the event. I am not an alumnus of the Loughborough University.
The tiles of honour displaying individual portraits with bio on the flip side, were functional and attractive. I looked forward to violinist and music educator, Ms Joanne Yeoh, whom I greatly admire. Alas absent! The outstanding alumni should have been present, rather than be merely decorative tiles. Do they charge appearance fees?
The formal speeches were short and informative, not tedious.
Man of Letters, Johan Jaafar, undertook the socio-historical research into Loughborough, for an amusing view of the English confusion of accents and the British castes of regional identity.
Prabha Sundram (Education) of the British Council outlined seamless tertiary education pathways. She has new initiatives to network all UK graduates.
It was great to greet Datuk Seri Azman Ujang, longtime journalist from Sarawak, who served with integrity as Chairman of Bernama. We meet regularly as a small group of ex-newspaper editors, at the Royal Commonwealth Society Club.
I am glad I came – even if just to connect with Dato Dr Mohd Ghazali, whose library of 35,000 books is a national asset. He is donating thousands of books to a lucky UiTM library.
I requested Dato’ Dr Mohd Ghazali to openan art exhibition of a Frenchman who merges photography with graphics – which I curated at the Centre of Photographic Arts (CPA) at Kokopelli Templar.
I reside in Hong Kong since 1985 (40 years) with wife and daughter. I visit my 92 years old mother in Klang to handle her medical needs and keep her company.
While here, I am called by heritage societies of Ipoh, Taiping and academics in KL, to share ongoing research into the tin history of Larut (1850-1900) leading to the Treaty of Pangkor.
At the International Day of Peace commemoration last week in Taiping, the Ambassador of Poland and Ukraine bestowed “Peace Ambassador” on me with some others, for my work on the Larut Wars and the peace that followed.
Assistant Resident Capt Speedy gave the Cantonese name Great (Tai) Peace (Ping) to the township of Klian Pauh.
A book is targeted for 2026, to rehabilitate OKM Ngah Ibrahim and Captain Speedy – both pivotal characters, airbrushed out of history by the British.
Recently, local China-interest groups invited me to share insights into the power struggles within the CCP, to curb the excesses of president Xi of China.
I was Operations Director of the South China Morning Post from 1985-2001 and concurrently publisher of the regional Asia magazine from 1986-1998.
I introduced and edited data journalism for ChinaDaily (HK Ed) since 2015.
Husna: An author, writer, editor (mostly a traveler)
Husna is a chemist, long retired from formal work since 2002. She has an MSc in Analytical Chemistry & Instrumentation from Loughborough University of Technology, UK. Having spent 29 years in Research & Development, majority of which (20 years!) was in the oil & gas industry with PETRONAS, Husna was then appointed Head of Product Development Group and managed various projects while still being able to focus on her specialty área: biofuels research.
She is now doing what she loves most – travelling and writing.
It was a chance, last-minute, destination change to Tunisia with her daughter in 2014 which started this next phase; Moroccan visa requirements saw to that. The pair went gallivanting from north to south, taking transportation modes and eating food only locals would whilst seeing forgotten landmarks and hidden gems. She began writing soon after as a form of memoir, and every trip taken since has been one great adventure after another.
Her first travel book “A Train to Catch”, was based on her Trans Mongolian / Balkan trip and published by Partridge Singapore in 2016. She has written an article for Malaysian Airlines’ in-flight magazine, Going Places , and just months later, won third place for the Jasmina Awards 2019, for My Malaysia category for her article “A Kind of Paradise”.
She co-wrote the book “The Push till the Last Mile”, with other friends, whilst also serving as editor for the book. An inspired idea dreamed up during the quiet days of Covid, “The Push till the Last Mile” was published in 2022, followed by “Those Were the Days” (2024). This book was written with friends from Loughborough University, UK.
Writing (and playing part-time nanny to three beautiful grandchildren) keeps her mind active, and with new essays, books, high school reunions, and adventures awaiting Husna, you do wonder how she does it all! Bemusingly, she admits to forgetting where she left her most precious things around her apartment.
Currently she is writing her 7th book “The Gems of Central Asia” and another book “My Malaysia”. Excerpts from the books will be made available on her blog, https://www.storiesfromtheeast.com/ .
